U2
Through a combination of
zealous righteousness and post-punk experimentalism, U2
became one of the most popular rock & roll bands of the '80s. Equally known
for their sweeping sound as for their grandiose statement about politics and
religion, U2 were rock & roll crusaders during an era of synthesized Pop
and heavy metal. The
Edge provided the group with a signature sound by creating sweeping sonic
landscapes with his heavily processed, echoed guitars. Though the
Edge's style wasn't conventional, the rhythm section of Adam
Clayton and Larry
Mullen Jr. played the songs as driving hard-rock, giving the band a
forceful, powerful edge that was designed for arena rock. And their lead singer,
Bono,
was frontman who had a knack of grand gestures that played better in arenas than
small clubs. It's no accident that footage of Bono
parading with a white flag with "Sunday Bloody Sunday" blaring in the
background became the defining moment of U2's
early career -- there rarely was a band that believed so deeply in the rock's
potential for revolution as U2,
and there rarely was a band that didn't care if they appeared foolish in the
process. During the course of the early '80s, the group quickly built up a
dedicated following through constant touring and a string of acclaimed records.
By 1987, the band's following had grown large enough to propel them to level of
international superstars with the release of The
Joshua Tree. Unlike many of their contemporaries, U2 was able to sustain
their popularity in the '90s by reinventing themselves as a post-modern,
self-consciously ironic dance-inflected pop-rock act, owing equally to the
experimentalism of late '70s Bowie
and '90s electronic dance and techno. By performing such a successful
reinvention, the band confirmed its status as one of the most popular bands in
rock history, in addition to earning additional critical respect.
With its textured guitars,
U2's sound was undeniably indebted to post-punk, so it's slightly ironic that
the band formed in 1976, before punk had reached their hometown of Dublin,
Ireland. Larry Mullen Jr. (b. October
31, 1961; drums) posted a notice on a high school bulletin board asking for
fellow musicians to form a band. Bono (b. Paul
Hewson, May 10, 1960; vocals, guitar), the Edge (b. David
Evans, August 8, 1961; guitar, keyboards, vocal), Adam Clayton
(bass), and Dick
Evans responded to the ad, and the group formed as a Beatles
and Stone
cover band called the Feedback, before changing their name to the Hype in 1977.
Shortly afterward, Dick Evans left the band to form the
Virgin Prunes. Following his departure, the group changed their name to U2.
U2's first big break arrived
in 1978, when they won a talent contest sponsored by Guinness; the band were in
their final year of high school at the time. by the end of the year, the
Stranglers' manager Paul
McGuinness saw the band play and offered to manage the group. Even with a
powerful manager in their corner, the band had trouble making much headway --
they failed an audition with CBS Records at the end of the year. In the fall of
1979, U2 released their debut EP U2:3. The EP was available only in Ireland and
it topped the national charts. Shortly afterward, they began to play in England,
but they failed to gain much attention.
U2 had one other
chart-topping single, "Another Day," in early 1980 before Island
Records offered the group a contract. Later that year, the band's debut, Boy,
was released. Produced by Steve
Lillywhite, the record's sweeping, atmospheric but edgy sound was unlike
most of its post-punk contemporaries, and the band earned further attention for
its public embrace of Christianity; only Clayton was not a practicing Christian.
Through constant touring, including opening gigs for Talking
Heads and wet T-shirt contests, U2 was able to take Boy
into the American Top 70 in early 1981. October,
also produced by Lillywhite,
followed in the fall, and it became their British breakthrough, reaching number
11 on the charts. By early 1983, Boy's "I Will Follow" and October's
"Gloria" had become staples on MTV, which, along with their touring,
gave the group a formidable cult following in the US.
Released in the spring of
1983, the Lillywhite-produced War
was U2's breakthrough release, entering the UK charts at number one and
elevating them into arenas in the United States, where the album peaked at
number 12. War had a stronger political message than its predecessors, as
evidenced by the UK, college radio, and MTV hits "Sunday Bloody
Sunday" and "New Year's Day." During the supporting tour, the
band filmed their concert at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater, releasing the
show as an EP and video title Under
A Blood Red Sky. The EP entered in the UK charts at number two, becoming the
most successful live recording in British history. U2 had become one of the most
popular bands in the world, and their righteous political stance soon became
replicated by many other bands, providing the impetus for the Band Aid and Live
Aid projects in 1984 and 1985, respectively. For the followup to War,
U2 entered the studios with co-producers Brian
Eno and Daniel
Lanois, who helped give the resulting album an experimental, atmospheric
tone. Released in the fall of 1984, The Unforgettable Fire replicated the chart
status of War, entering the UK charts at number one and reaching number 12 in
the US the album also generated the group's first Top 40 hit in America with the
Martin
Luther King Jr. tribute "(Pride) In The Name of Love." U2
supported the album with a successful international tour, highlighted by a
show-stealing performance at Live Aid. Following the tour, the band released the
live EP, Wide
Awake in America in 1985.
While U2 had become one of
the most successful rock bands of the '80s, they didn't truly become superstars
until the spring 1987 release of The Joshua Tree. Greeted with enthusiastic
reviews, many of which proclaimed the album a masterpiece, The
Joshua Tree became the band's first American number one hit and its third
straight album to enter the UK charts at number one; in England, it set a record
by going platinum within 28 hours. Generating the US number one hits "With
or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For,"
The Joshua Tree and the group's supporting tour became the biggest success of
1987, earning the group the cover of respected publications like Time magazine.
U2 decided to film a documentary about their American tour, recording new
material along the way. The project became Rattle
& Hum, a film that was supported by a double-album soundtrack that was
divided between live tracks and new material. While the album Rattle
& Hum was a hit, the record and film received the weakest reviews of
U2's career, with many critics taking issue with the group's fascination with
American roots music like blues, soul, country and folk. Following the release
of Rattle & Hum, the band took an extended hiatus.
U2 reconvened in Berlin 1990
to record a new album with Eno
and Lanois.
While the sessions for the album were difficult, the resulting record, Achtung
Baby, represented a successful reinvention of the band's trademark sound.
Where they had been inspired by post-punk in the early career and American music
during their mid-career, U2 delved into electronic and dance music with Achtung
Baby. Inspired equally be late '70s Bowie and the Madchester scene in the
UK, Achtung
Baby was sonically more eclectic and adventurous than U2's earlier work, and
it didn't alienate their core audience. The album debuted at number one
throughout the world and spawned Top 10 hits with "Mysterious Ways"
and "One." Early in 1992, the group launched an elaborate tour to
support Achtung Baby. Dubbed Zoo TV, the tour was an innovative blend of
multi-media electronics, featuring a stage filled with televisions, suspended
cars and cellular phone calls. Bono devised an alter-ego called the Fly, which
was a knowing send-up of rock stardom. Even under the ironic guise of the Fly
and Zoo TV, it was evident that U2 was looser and more fun than ever before,
even though they had not abandoned their trademark righteous political anger.
Following the completion of
the American Zoo TV tour in late and before the launch of the European leg of
tour, U2 entered the studio to complete an EP of new material that became the
full-length Zooropa.
Released in the summer of 1993 to coincide with the tour of the same name, Zooropa
demonstrated a heavier techno and dance influence than Achtung Baby and it
received strong reviews. Nevertheless, the album stalled at sales of two million
and failed to generate a big hit single. During the Zooropa tour, the Fly
metamorphosed into the demonic MacPhisto, which dominated the remainder of the
tour. Upon the completion of the Zooropa tour in late 1993, the band took an
extended break. During 1995, U2 re-emerged with "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss
Me, Kill Me," a glam-rock theme to Batman
Forever that was produced by Nellee
Hooper (Bjork, Soul
II Soul). Later that year, they recorded the collaborative album Original
Soundtracks, Vol. 1 with Brian
Eno, releasing the album under the name the
Passengers late in 1995. It was greeted with a muted reception, both
critically and commercially.
Many hardcore U2 fans,
including drummer Larry
Mullen Jr., were unhappy with the Passengers project, and U2 promised their
next album, to be released in the fall of 1996, would be a rock & roll
record. The album took longer to complete than usual, being pushed back to the
spring of 1997. During its delay, a few tracks, including the forthcoming first
single "Discotheque," were leaked, and it became clear that the new
album was going to be heavily influenced by techno, dance and electronic music.
When it was finally released, Pop did indeed bear a heavier dance influence, but
it was greeted with strong initial sales, as well as some of the strongest
reviews of U2's career. In late 1998, the group returned with Best of 1980-1990,
the first in a series of hits collections issued in conjunction with a reported
50 million agreement with Polygram. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide
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